On July 18, 2013, New FortuneMagazine of , Shenzhen Securities Information Co., Ltd. (SSIC), and FleishmanHillard co-hosted the New Fortune Capital Market Forum in Shenzhen China on 18th of July, with the theme of “The Rise of China in Global M&A Arena”.
The forum was held together with The 9th New Fortune Best Board Secretaries Award and The 7th New Fortune Best Investment Banks Award, which are both widely recognized in the capital market of China. Ruby Yim, Co-Chair of Global Capital Markets Practice of FH, chaired the M&A panel discussion with experts, including Huang Qing, Board Secretary of China Shenhua Energy, the largest coal supplier and vendor in China, Carson Wen, Partner of Jones Day, Judy Tsang, Partner of Transaction Advisory Services of Ernst & Young Hong Kong, Jeffrey Wilson, Director of Houlihan Lokey’s Hong Kong office, as well as Bill Black, Chair of Global Public Affairs Practice Group of FH.. The Forum was a huge success with attendance of over 150 Chinese companies listed in either Shenzhen Stock Exchange and Shanghai Stock Exchange as well as leading domestic investment banks.
Ruby started with her introductory speech on an overview of the global M&A landscape, setting the stage for the panel discussion : “You just need to switch on the TV or open a newspaper to hear of numerous inbound and outbound M&A activities happening at every moment around the world, in both developed and emerging or high growth markets. Whether it be a headline on the HJ Heinz transaction in the US, Virgin Media in the UK, transformational M&A waves in Japan; Turkey becoming the third fastest growing country by 2017, growing investment in Indonesia for its youth demographic, the passing of new foreign investment laws in Myanmar, visits by the US president and China’s premier in fostering alliances with African states for its resource rich reserves, some of which recently joined the a group of countries as the next BRICS – there is much optimism that surrounds the current outlook for global M&A activity, particularly in terms of cross border deals.
In addition, it’s not just western companies that are on the acquisition side: companies across the BRIC nations and high growth markets are increasingly turning their attention to targets in both developed and emerging markets. China is one of the most active players in this regard, and with continued globalization, the opportunities for Chinese companies to expand across borders are becoming increasingly attractive for markets, for resources, for technology, for products, and for a global foot print.
Global M&As reached $2.6 trillion for the full year 2012 (EIU), with China reporting 700 transactions for a total transaction value of close to $147 billion. Of these, $52 billion was related to cross border activity and the majority were outbound investments.
According to Mergermarket, the outbound M&A has grown close to double in volume and threefold in value since 2007 (from 92 chinese outbound deals valued at $22 billion in 2007 to 178 deals, valued at close to $65 billion)”
The panel discussion focused on China’s outbound M&A activities, from the overall trends, drivers of acquiring overseas assets, the opportunities & risks especially in the uncertain time, the issues and challenges Chinese companies might be facing as they go through the process. The panel also discussed the approach to assess potential risks and key considerations during the preparation stage to better manage the process & strategies to minimize the execution risks in cross border M&A transaction in particularly in the growing interests in emerging economies. The discussion was lively & insightful with practical and actionable recommendations that resonated with the audience in the event.
On the same day, FleishmanHillard was named strategic partner by SSIC to support the latter in bringing international best practice and standards to its award programs and services to Chinese listed companies. SSIC is the only financial information service institution and the leading media platform in China for financial and economic information.
8 major financial media in China, such as Tencent, Sina, Sohu and Hexun, live broadcasted the event and ran special columns. 6 print media of China and CCTV Finance Channel reported on the event, and Phoenix TV interviewed the panelists Jeffery Wilson and Huang Qing.
About SSIC
Shenzhen Securities Information Co., Ltd. is the only information service institution in China, which is qualified for information disclosure for multi-layered capital markets, covering main-board listed companies, small-medium enterprises board, ChiNext board, share transfer agency system, property right market and so forth. Taking full advantage of exclusive information resources, SSIC owns strong financial media brands presented by www.p5w.net, www.cninfo.com.cn,“ New Fortune” magazine, and the TV Channel Wealth World with the famous program Trading Day. It is now the leading media platform in China for financial and economic information. Shenzhen Securities Information Co., Ltd. Has Two Operation Centers in Beijing and Shanghai, Six Regional Offices.
About New Fortune Magazine
The New Fortune Magazine is co-issued by Shenzhen Panorama Network Co. Ltd. and the Information
Center of the Administration of Press and Publication of Guangdong. Shenzhen Panorama Network Co. Ltd., a financial information website, is jointly invested by Shenzhen Securities Information Co. Ltd. , a subsidiary of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange and the Securities Times.
The Magazine first came into circulation in March 2001, and headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, which is the forefront of China’s reform and opening up. Now the Magazine is a monthly publication with significant influence on China’s capital market.
In the past 11 years, the Magazine has earned a good reputation by in-depth and Harvard-Business-
School-style case studies, with articles on Warren Buffet, General Electronics, Boeing, Li Ka-shing, CNOOC and other well-known enterprises at home and abroad. Authors who contribute articles to the Magazine are all esteemed economists from Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse, UBS, World Bank, Development Research Center of the State Council and CITIC Securities. On the other hand, the Magazine covers a wide range of readers include entrepreneurs from listed and going-to-be-listed companies, top management from security agencies, fund management companies, accounting agencies and government officials from security and finance regulatory departments as well.
In the meantime, learning from two famous western magazines Institutional Investors and Euromoney, the Magazine is one of the first in China launching a series of rankings, including New Fortune Best Analysts, Golden Board Secretary, China’s Most Wealthiest people Top 500, Best Investment Banks and Most Promising Business Models. All these rankings have exerted great influence on both domestic and overseas capital markets. Especially, the ranking for China’s Best Analysts has significantly elevated the value of security analysis industry as well as analysts in China. The annual Oscar-style awards ceremony has become a big event for financial elites.
Stepping into the age of new media, the Magazine has established several platforms including Best Analysts Forum, Golf Tournament series, official website, e-magazine and official Weibo. Meanwhile, the magazine is dedicated to building itself into an international financial media. In the years from 2003 to 2013, the magazine has sponsored Boao Asian Forum and Boao Asian Forum Golf Invitational for successive 11 years. So far, this Golf Invitational has attracted a thousand political and business dignitaries such as former U.S. President George W. Bush and former Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke, which greatly enhances the international reputation of the Magazine.
